I Am My Own Wife is a one person show based on the life ofÂ Charlotte von Mahlsdorf â€“ a Berlin born boy who self-identified as female at an early age. It won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play.

Despite living under the Nazi regime â€“ the most repressive era in history â€“ Charlotte defied rigid gender norms by dressing and acting as a woman.

The play consists of 35 characters who surround Charlotteâ€™s story. All 35 characters, Charlotte included, are played by The Ohio State University (OSU) MFA alum Christopher Marlowe Roche.

I Am My Own Wife is more than a story about a remarkable character â€“ it is a tale about identity and what we tell ourselves (lies, truth or in between) to get by in this world.

What makes this story so intriguing is that Charlotte von Mahlsdorf had a passion for collecting gramophone records, antique clocks and furniture from late 19th-century Germany. It is the story of inventions â€“ clocks and records and, yes, identity.

More on Charlotte von Mahlsdorfâ€™s collecting with Roch:

I Am My Own Wife runs February 2 through the 20th at the Riffe Center Studio Two Theatre.